WELCOME — ABOUT US
Death is hard to think about, and it’s hard to talk about. Death with Dignity–Albany was founded in 2015 to make it easier for people to talk about end-of-life issues, to learn more about their options, and to make plans to ensure that their wishes are honored when the time comes. We believe that everyone deserves to have a dignified, peaceful death.
We are an independent, local, grassroots group whose mission is to provide a forum for education and advocacy. We are based in Albany, NY and serve the Capital Region of New York State and beyond.
In past years, we held in-person meetings to hear from guest speakers with expertise in legal, ethical, social, and legislative aspects of end-of-life matters. These meetings allowed supporters of death with dignity to meet and talk with other supporters and advocates. Beginning in 2020, our meetings have shifted mostly to an online format.
We are part of the New York Alliance for Medical Aid in Dying, whose members are working to enact medical aid in dying legislation in this state.
Improve the Medical Aid in Dying Act
In several ways, the New York bill for the Medical Aid in Dying Act (A995C, S2445C) would make the law the best in the nation in terms of making this end-of-life option accessible to people who want to use it. Starting with its original version in 2016, the bill has included these features: (1) only one oral request is required (all the other states require two); (2) there are no required waiting periods (all other states have at least one); and (3) there is no residency requirement (Vermont and Oregon eliminated theirs just last year).
Unfortunately, the current version of the bill retains a change in the definition of self-administration that was made in 2021, a change that denies access to persons who cannot ingest the medication. In this regard, New York would be behind the best states in the nation — behind Vermont, New Jersey, and Hawaii. We have prepared a proposal titled “A Proposal to Improve the Medical Aid in Dying Act: Let’s Restore the Original Definition of Self-Administration” to fix this deficiency.
The proposal is available on the new “Director’s Blog” page on our website HERE. It’s a good read!
What’s Ahead?
The New York legislature runs on a two-year cycle, with elections for all Senators and Assemblymembers occurring in even-numbered years. The 2025-2026 legislative term will begin next January with a clean slate, and the bills for the Medical Aid in Dying Act will be introduced again.
This fall, candidates for the legislature will be seeking voter support. If you are at an event with a candidate, ask them where they stand on medical aid in dying and let them know that you want them to support the bill. Becoming a cosponsor of the bill is the way a legislator can publicly commit their support — ask the candidate if they will do that.